42% emissions target: Letter to Editor

The Scottish Government should be commended for reaffirming its commitment to meet the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 42 per cent by 2020, which they did in response to yesterday’s report by the UK Committee on Climate Change.

This is the goal the Scottish Parliament set down in their world-leading climate act of June 2009, which thousands of people across Scotland campaigned hard for, and which was endorsed unanimously by all parties in the Scottish Parliament. Now we must all do everything we can to help them fulfil it.

In reaffirming this target, the Scottish Government has taken a global lead on climate change and committed to a greener and more prosperous Scotland. It has also made a moral promise to the developing world, where the poorest people and those least responsible for climate change are struggling to cope with its impacts.

A target of at least 42 per cent is what scientific evidence tells us offers the best chance of avoiding dangerous climate change. Key scientists, some of whom have signed this letter, wrote to the Scottish Government back in June last year to advise them of this. Their conclusions are based upon an overwhelming scientific consensus formed upon the widest possible evidence base and we are glad that the Scottish Government agrees with them.

As business leaders, scientists, representatives of civil society and trade unions, we see this commitment to cut our emissions as a real opportunity for Scotland. We have a great combination of natural resources and some of the world’s leading experts in terms of technology and climate science to achieve it.

By setting the right ambition, we have placed ourselves on the path to being a world leader in the low carbon economy of the future. The potential for lasting investment and job creation is significant and, if we take the right steps now, our economic recovery could have solid foundations for the years to come.

But climate change is not just about science or economics. It’s also about international justice. With this strong target and world-leading Act, Scotland can also live up to its long-standing traditions of justice and fairness for all.

However, this isn’t something that can wait to 2020. The need for urgent action is now. We all have a responsibility to redouble our efforts to cut our emissions in a sustainable manner, and work together to make Scotland the true world leader on climate change it has the potential to be.